


The Future Past

by Anonymous



Category: Mother 1 | EarthBound Zero | EarthBound Beginnings, Mother 2: Gyiyg no Gyakushuu | EarthBound, Mother 3, Mother 4
Genre: Angst, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Off-screen Character Death, One Long Conversation, Other Characters Are Mentioned, mentions of gore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:55:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27284521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Defending New Pork City from rebels, Travis comes face to face with an old friend he's forgotten about.(Was originally going to post this on 10/23, but I didn't want to make it too obvious who I'm writing this for. Loosely based on Robin and Morgan's conversation from Fe13's DLC "The Future Past")
Kudos: 1
Collections: Echoes of the Past





	The Future Past

**Author's Note:**

  * For [a certain person](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=a+certain+person).



There Travis stood. Mace in hand, he watched as the opposition struggled against the fanatics of the Pigmask Army. _Resistance was futile,_ he thought to himself. _Soon the world will know the name of our great king Pokey Minch_.

He watched endless legions break themselves against his army’s undying loyalty. Devotion to a master makes everything else irrelevant. You would gladly live and die by a man’s command. You would be ready to turn your back on your friends because they disagreed with your beliefs. You would burn the world down if it satisfied your master. Else you’d suffer the punishment of death, or worse…

He remembered the case of Claus. At least that’s what he remembered. Claus had turned his back on their glorious king for some false hope that the wretched corpse of his brother would be revived. As such, Pokey Minch threw him into a guillotine and Claus’s head went rolling. It would later serve as his highness’s chalice, and he was adamant that he keep the rest of his body for “personal reasons.”

Nobody would question the king. Villages burned, entire forests ravaged, populations slaughtered. At the end, only New Pork City stood. A shining beacon of hope and industry amidst the terrors of tradition. The world needed change; staring at old wood walls and cobblestone roads was bland, his highness would erect skyscrapers, promote wealth and prosperity, all for the goodness of people...right?

“Um, excuse me?”

Travis looked around. The lightning was dim, he could only make out a dark figure walking towards him. The figure wasn’t armed, and looked to be only slightly smaller than he was. Into the light came a young teen with a red handkerchief tied around his neck.

“I was going to ambush you, but I decided against it.” he said.

“Explain yourself, worm.” Travis demanded.

“You don’t remember who I am? Well I think it’s for the better honestly.” the boy shrugged. “You can call me Ninten.”

“Ninten...what a dumb name.”

“Yeah I think so too. But I’m stuck with it you know? Not much I can do about it.”

“You said that I don’t remember who you are. Perhaps a traitor? A deserter?”

“No...we were friends at one point. You know before all of this. You helped me up when I was feeling down, even though you really didn’t want to.”

“Really? If you were that important to me I would remember who you are.”

“That’s the thing, I wasn’t important to you. You’d rather suck up to Colton than helping me through it.”

“Colton? Are you playing games with me?”

Ninten gasped and covered his mouth. “No, no, I’m not trying to mess with you. Honest! I just got some details confused. I was thinking of someone else when I said it.”

Travis sighed and recomposed himself. Ninten put his hands behind his back and looked at the ground in shame. It would be the perfect opportunity to dispatch him while he’s wallowing in his self-pity. Travis tightened his grip on his mace and prepared to swing.

“Just because you have a weapon doesn’t mean I’m scared of you.” Ninten said, rather depressed. He then licked his lips and smiled, “Unless you want me to gouge out your eyes and make you weep blood. I’m sure your guts are pretty tasty too.”

Travis was taken back. He didn’t expect this sudden change in behavior. Although the self-loathing Ninten did seem familiar to him, he would’ve never expected him to be fond of murder. Travis would kill and move on, but for some reason it seems Ninten is in love with more than just killing, judging by the pleasure it brought him to talk about it.

“So you think just because you have a fancy city, it makes you hot shit.”

“I...no!”

“Oh yes! You think just because you blindly follow your degenerate king into battle it makes you strong? Makes you a good person? Stop pretending.”

“I’m not pretending! You’re starting to anger me!”

“Well if you want to be strung up from the walls by your innards, I’d be happy to oblige!” Ninten smiled, not a devilish one but an innocent one. His entire demeanor changes by the second. Travis was unsure what to do.

“I’ll call my friends over and…!”

“Have them get killed too? Good idea.” Ninten sighed and shook his head. “They’re all gonna die anyways. It’s best if you just take the fall and not get anyone else involved. At least they get a mercy killing.”

From low to high to low again, Travis was convinced that Ninten was probably mentally insane. He could use that. With a few words he could convince Ninten to join him, and end his little crusade right here and now. He asked, “Do you, wanna be friends again?”

“Sorry, but I’ll pass.” Ninten replied. “Nothing personal. Well, it’s me personal. Nothing about you.”

“King Pokey is a kindhearted ruler. Don’t believe anything everyone else tells you. This rebellion that you’re a part of? Nothing but liars. We’re changing the world for the better, believe me.”

“Why do you fight?”

It seemed that Ninten completely ignored the offer. Travis thought about what to say. “For the king.”

“Not some idea of self-righteousness? Not to convince everyone that they’re something they’re not? Do you think you’re on the right side of things, parading behind some masquerader of false promises? Chances are he doesn’t care about you. He just wants power, and will step on everyone to get it. Nobody questions him, they just blindly believe that he’s in the right. I heard all about the whole execution for having an opinion thing.”

“You did?”

“And the person who he relied on to help him with that? He was executed too. For difference of opinion. Not for anything political, but because they simply disagreed on who was the better programmer slash modder.”

Travis grew angrier by the minute. “Liar!”

“If you don’t believe me, ask your beloved king about all the sins he created.”

“I-I have half the mind to cut you down right now! Prepare-”

Ninten reached into his satchel and pulled something out. It was a book, a personal journal by the looks of it. “I’m sorry, I must’ve overstepped my boundaries. So let me give you this.”

Travis took the book from Ninten. He didn’t open it, just observed the outside. Sticky notes were sticking out all over the place, some of the pages were dog eared, and there was even a bookmark on one specific page.

“It’s my personal journal.” Ninten explained. “I’ve had a lot of good memories and bad, all in there. So if you want to better understand me and somehow use it to get me to turn, be my guest.”

“Why are you…?”

“Because we’re friends. We were friends. I’d still like to pretend that we are, but chances are you hate me. But that’s okay! As long as you’re happy hating me, I’ll learn to deal with it.”

“Ninten.”

Ninten looked down at his watch. “Sorry, I gotta go. My friends need me. I’m glad we got this chance to talk though. Thank you.”

Ninten attempted to smile. He used his fingers to draw out a smile wider than he could make it before retreating back into the darkness. Travis opened the book. The first chunk of pages were, as it would imply, a diary. Just daily thoughts. He flipped open to a specific page, where the date was smudged out. It was talking about the fight he got into with his dad, how his dad beat him and how Travis and a few others had consoled him.

Another page only labeled with a year talks about how all his friends had outed him because he got too greedy for attention, how he wasn’t all that he said that he was. The few entries after that had dry teardrops on the page, talking about how all good things would come to an end and how everything would be better if he hadn’t existed and so on. Afterwards, the entries displayed a general downspiral in sanity, only to be rejuvenated in the Summer of 2018 where he found solace in a group of friends who cared for him, only to get abandoned by them as well.

A sticky note labeled “SRH” led to a page with a story outline about a certain character who was framed for a crime he didn’t commit. At the bottom of the page, there was a comment that said, “love your fanfics, man! they're really sad but written so good... i can't wait for the next chapter :]” with the commenter’s name furiously crossed out.

The next few pages had the original script titled “Chapter 3: Rain”. At the bottom was a sticky note. The commenter’s name was smudged from the ink, but Travis was able to make out the last three letters: ork.

_(My weak heart can't handle the angst HHHH)_

_Good update! Kept me on edge the entire second half through._

Travis turned to the back of the book. On the last page was a crudely drawn picture of a cactus inside a pot, wearing a wig. Travis noticed some writing at the bottom. What surprised him was that it was HIS handwriting. 

_Ninten, I love you and your writing is absolutely amazing_

_If you have the power to make me, the reader, sob like three times its amazing_

Travis couldn’t take it. Ninten wasn’t worshiping him in this book, he was just overjoyed that someone finally showed him some kindness. Overjoyed that someone saw some worth in him and it inspired him to push on with life instead of throwing in the towel. Except now that his drive has been ripped away from him. Travis could use this. He could use it to convince Ninten to join forces with him.

Except Ninten hates Pokey with a passion. He hates his guts, his lust for power. It’s not because he truly believed that Pokey was bad. In the journal, he states “How could someone like him have the whole world at his feet, while I work hard, grind, and nearly kill myself just to get nothing?” It was because he felt jealous of how Pokey had that power, had everything that he could only dream of having.

Travis felt guilt. He couldn’t do this anymore. He felt that he played a big part in Ninten’s loss of sanity. He could only think about what he could’ve done to prevent him from being like this. _Could I have gave him more attention? Could I have helped him more? Maybe if we weren’t so mean…_

This wasn’t just worrying about usurping the king. Ninten was a shell of his former self. Ninten cared deeply for Travis, only to get sod all in return. A theme that recurs several times throughout his life. Travis couldn’t blame him, everyone likes to live in the past and will never accept change. The perception that he gave others will remain. Love doesn’t persist within the masses. Only hate.

“I...I can’t do this anymore. I thought my faith was unshakable, I was ready to betray and kill my own friends. But...after reading this.” Travis started to cry. “He held on to some false hope that I would come back and help him up again. But I never delivered. I drove him crazy. I made him like this...I’m so sorry Ninten, if only I would’ve done things differently.”

Travis collapsed to the ground, clutching the book to his chest. “I can’t strike down the only person who...I just can’t. Forgive me, your highness but I have to withdraw. I remain your servant, and will accept any punishment you see fit.”


End file.
